On Monday, July 10, Dr. Steven Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an update and more details on the food safety systems recognition effort the United States is currently working on with the European Commission. Ostroff provided the update at the International Association of Food Protection Conference in Tampa, Florida. The systems recognition agreement would apply to food produced in the European Union member states.
Food imported within the scope of the systems recognition agreement is less likely to be inspected by FDA. Importers of such food are subject to fewer requirements under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) Rule.
Please see this U.S. Food Imports Regulatory Alert for more information on the update and how systems regulation provides relief from certain FSVP requirements. Please contact Erik Lieberman at elieberman1@usfoodimports.com or 202.765.1800 if you have questions.